January 14, 2009 – (HOSTSEARCH.COM) –
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) has named Carol Bartz as its new CEO, a number of reports have suggested. Ms. Bartz fills the position left vacant by Jerry Yang who last year resisted a merger with Microsoft and saw Yahoo! stock fall to record lows. The news of Ms. Bartz’ arrival came at the same time as reports confirmed that Sue Decker had stepped down from the position of company president.
Although Ms. Bartz is noted for turning computer-aided design software company Autodesk around from a $300 million business to revenues in excess of $1.5 billion, the market appeared unimpressed by Yahoo!’s appointment - stock fell 3% to $11.87 but closed the day at $12.10.
A press release circulated by Yahoo! quoted the company’s Chairman, Chairman Roy Bostock as saying, "We are very excited to have Carol Bartz leading Yahoo! into its next era of growth. She is the exact combination of seasoned technology executive and savvy leader that the Board was looking for, and we are thrilled to have attracted such a world-class talent to Yahoo!. She is admired in the Valley as well as on Wall Street for her deep management expertise, strong customer orientation, excellent people skills, and firm understanding of the challenges facing our industry. Carol meets all of the criteria we set for the search and is the only person to whom we offered the job. The Board is united in its view that her energetic and decisive leadership style, coupled with a proven track record of driving growth, operational excellence and shareholder value, is exactly what Yahoo! needs to get back on a path toward achieving its full potential."
The release also thanked Sue Decker for “her service as President, the important contributions she has made to Yahoo!'s development in a variety of roles over the past 8-1/2 years, and her willingness to work with Carol Bartz to ensure a smooth transition."
In her resignation letter to Yahoo!, Mr. Decker was reported as saying, “The Yahoo! of today is a radically different company than the one I joined in 2000, as befits a major franchise in one of the world's fastest-evolving industries. Financially, the company has grown its revenue base from a little over $1 billion in 2000 to more than $7 billion, and has more than quadrupled its operating cash flow from around $400 million to close to $2 billion. Over that period, working together, we have reshaped one of the world's most vital Internet brands and transformed the company in ways the outside world is only just beginning to see. We did this by anticipating customer needs and evolving our business model ahead of dynamic changes to the online marketplace. While it is true that competition has never been fiercer, it is equally true that Yahoo! has moved decisively and creatively forward.”
